A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained politician and publisher Omoyele Sowore from making public statements deemed harmful to national peace and security.
Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on Tuesday, warned that the court would revoke Sowore’s bail if he again issues remarks considered prejudicial to public order.
The judge granted Sowore bail on self-recognition, noting that he had previously contested for the presidency, had earlier been admitted to bail, and still had his international passport in the court’s custody under an existing case.
The ruling followed a bail application moved by his counsel, Marshall Abubakar, shortly after Sowore was arraigned on a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS). He is accused of defaming President Bola Tinubu by describing him as a criminal in posts on X and Facebook.
Sowore pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charge was read.
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In the charge, Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019, is accused of contravening the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act by calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal
The two other defendants listed in the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, are X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp.
Earlier at the commencement of proceedings, lawyer to the prosecution, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), informed the court that the business of the day was for the arraignment of the first defendant, who was already in the dock.
However, Abubakar made frantic efforts to prevent his client’s arraignment and informed the court about a notice of preliminary objection filed the previous day by his client, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the charge.
Abubakar urged the court to postpone proceedings to a later date to enable the prosecution, who he admitted served the preliminary objection 30 minutes before the court started sitting, file its response.
He insisted that the court must first hear his client’s objection before an arraignment could take place.
Kehinde faulted Abubakar’s position and argued that by the provision of Section
396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), a defendant could only raise an objection to the validity of a charge after arraignment.
He added that it is only after the defendant’s plea has been taken that the court can properly assume jurisdiction.
Lawyers to X and Facebook – Christabel Ndeokwelu and Mofesomo Oyetibo (SAN), said they also have a preliminary objection, challenging the inclusion of their clients in the charge since no offences are alleged against them.
Ndeokwelu and Oyetibo said they were not averse to the arraignment taking place on Tuesday to clear the road for the hearing of their objections.
Ruling, Justice Umar overruled Abubakar and ordered that Sowore should be arraigned on the charge, to which he later pleaded not guilty when it was read to him by an official of the court.
The judge has, however, adjourned till January 19 for further hearing.
Counts in the charge read:
*That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, did use your official X handle page, @Yele Sowore, to send out a message/ tweet as: ‘This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly,’ which you know the said message to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals, who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
*That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, did use your official Facebook page, Omoyele Sowore, to send out a message/ post as: ‘This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly,’ which you know the said message/post to be false, but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
*That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, using the instrumentality of X, via your official X account @Yele Sowore, did knowingly publish defamatory material on your online platform viz: ‘This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
*That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, using the instrumentality of Facebook, via your official Facebook account Omoyele Sowore, did knowingly publish defamatory material on your online platform viz: ‘This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
*That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025 with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, published false information on your official X and Facebook accounts @Yele Sowore, respectively, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same Act.
